


the first of august

by stinkyfishbird



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: First Kiss, M/M, Mutual Pining, Post-IT (2017), Soft Eddie Kaspbrak, Soft Richie Tozier, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things, i keep asking god for help but he won't answer, im jus????, im so soft for them i cannot, im yearning BYE, reddie for the soul bye, reddie. reddie reddie reddie reddie reddie, the only angsting you'll find is pining but it gets better god bless, they are DUMB lemme say it again, they're gay and they're dumb, this is based on. That Short Comic by @berrychocolatituwu on instagram
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-21
Updated: 2020-07-21
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:55:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25419556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stinkyfishbird/pseuds/stinkyfishbird
Summary: a quick, fleeting look towards him, and Richie couldn’t help but notice how the corners of Eddie’s mouth were visibly aching to turn upwards. three seconds later Richie shifts himself, tilting himself towards him. he was also edged closer to Eddie. who might have missed it. he just might have.***where Eddie is pining, Richie is pining, they're both idiots and i hate myself{ based on That Short Comic by @berrychocolatituwu on instagram bye }
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak & Richie Tozier, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Comments: 11
Kudos: 62





	the first of august

the first of august  
3:58 pm

rough, calloused fingers reach for the dusty guitar case under his bed. a silly, triumphant grin, etched on his face and he slowly pulls it out. 

“Richie FUCKING Tozier. i know how you’re always full of surprises and whatnot, but what- how did i not know you played the guitar-“

he looks up at the boy, pushing up his glasses. “i guess i learned around a bit a few summers ago? minor hobby. nothing serious, y’know? guess i got bored of spending all my free time boning your mom.”

“…fuck you. asshole.”

laughing, he zips open the case and gently pulls out the guitar. sliding his hand over the top of the guitar’s neck. he makes himself comfortable, the familiar curve resting on his knee as he eases his hand over its body. it all came so naturally, so at ease, that Eddie bit back a smile.

a quick, fleeting look towards him, and Richie couldn’t help but notice how the corners of Eddie’s mouth were visibly aching to turn upwards. three seconds later Richie shifts himself, tilting himself towards him. he was also edged closer to Eddie. who might have missed it. he just might have.

“any requests?” Richie asks, and his voice is warmer, softer. Eddie might have missed it. he just might have.

***

Eddie’s eyes are half closed, listening to Richie playing for him. he looked at Richie, the way his dark hair curled at the ends and how some locks swept over his forehead, and how he wanted to brush them away, but turning away almost immediately, because he couldn’t. he wouldn’t let himself feel like this, not here. not now.

Richie dares to sneak a glance at Eddie. he looked so… restrained. like he was holding back from something. he wasn’t sure exactly what that was. 

he plucked the strings of the guitar, gently strumming along the chords. his movements were smooth, which, in all honesty, surprised Eddie, since Richie generally had a reputation for being loud, and even a bit crass sometimes, but right then, in his 11’ x 14’ bedroom littered with laundry, unfinished schoolwork, and everything clearly out of place, he had never seen him this vulnerable.

looking at him, Richie can’t help but get distracted, and for the first time, his fingers stumble and falter against his guitar. ever since they met, and Richie had decided to tease Eddie about his height was during 2nd grade recess, he was always Richie’s biggest distraction. he was surprised he didn’t see it back then. he knew he loved him. he knew it. which, actually, would be something you’d want to feel good about, but he’d developed this pining ache inside his chest, which he kept managing to ignore; but fuck, it hurt.

Eddie’s chest was bursting with the same ache. it felt raw, unrefined. it kept yelling at him, frustrated, begging him to do something, to make it stop, something to make it feel right. something to fix the throb he felt whenever Richie was close.

_go, go kiss him already, don’t you want to kiss him look at him you love him, please, you love him, hold his hand, hold him, you can’t keep this in you forever, Eddie, PLEASE_

their eyes lock one last time, and that’s when it happens. he looks away, and before he knows it, he’s ready to say something. “Richie…”

he lifts his head, _this is it_ , Eddie tells himself. _this is your chance, if you lose him now you’ll never tell him_ -

he turns back to Richie, because he couldn’t afford to miss this; even if he wanted to. all he had to do was force words out, and it would be over.

“can- can i kiss you…?”

***

when he sees Richie’s face go slack with surprise, and what he considered to be disgust, Eddie isn’t surprised. part of him expected him to act like this, but he wasn’t able to handle the way his face contorted, and his stomach twisted. 

“WHAT?”

at this point, he was fucking shaking with fear. “WHAT”

“WHAT DID YOU SAY?” Richie’s finally looking at him, hands still. with the way he’s reacting, is he really sure he wants to keep this up?

“i didn’t say anything-“ Eddie looks right into his eyes again, and Richie’s face was a dark shade of red now. he assumed he wasn’t any lesser than a tomato either. 

“YES YOU _DID_ ” 

“ _NO_ I DIDN’T” 

“YES YOU DID-” 

“NO, WHAT”

“YES,”

“WHAT THE FUCK, NO”

“BUT-“

“FOR THE LAST TIME, _i didn’t say anything_ , so stop fucking around, Rich.” and now Eddie’s forehead his scrunched, and his mouth is twisted into a scowl. he ruined it, didn’t he? Richie heard him, he knows it. he’s ruined it. he shouldn’t have asked. what the fuck was he expecting Richie to do anyway?

Richie feels like he’d just been whacked. is he supposed to pretend like this never happened? like he didn’t just hear the boy he loved ask to kiss him, and immediately act like he didn’t? because Richie was on the verge of snapping. 

the spaghetti man took his leap, now it was his turn.

tilted away from him, Eddie was tearing up, no matter how hard he . Richie turns toward him once more, and he’s cautious. cautious that he doesn’t ruin this for him, for them.

“you can.” he says, without a hint of hesitation, and Eddie tilts towards his best friend and looks back at him. “what?”

and so the hesitation kicks in. “y’know…kiss me.” Richie continues, turning away again. he wouldn’t dare look up now. “y-you can kiss me anytime.” the pain in his chest was a dull thump now, and he felt like he was gonna burst any minute, at this rate. was it just him, or was it getting harder to breathe? 

glancing at Eddie, he notices his tense, heavy breathing and decides to ignore it for the time being. “like. right now.”

he hears nothing on Eddie’s end, who’s practically convinced this was a fever dream. he tries to open his mouth to say something, but his braincells seem to have shut down, so he ends up making this breathy noise that sounds a bit like a gasp. 

he doesn’t really know how to read that, so he decides to go easy. he coughs, looking at Eddie sideways, and gives a small shrug. “just sayin’.” good going, dumbass.

for a bit, there’s this uncomfortable silence, and Richie doesn’t know whether he did the right thing or not. his palms were getting sweaty and he was getting restless. he had this sinking feeling in his gut, scared that he just possibly might have fucked up everything.

he realized the guitar really wasn’t helping him pick up dates after all, or so he assumed.

Eddie’s heartbeat was growing rapid and irregular, which would probably concern his mother enough to send her in a state of panic, but unsurprisingly, she was the last thing he wanted to think about. they were both looking at each other now, considering what to say, because honestly, Eddie wanted nothing more than to grab the idiot by the front and kiss the living daylights out of him.

Richie clears his throat. fuck it, he figures. he was too far gone anyway.

“if you want you can-” and his voice cracks just the tiniest bit, but it was enough to make Eddie ease out the smile had been holding back.

taking a short breath, Richie goes on, Eddie’s smile all but discouraging him. “If you want you can kiss me like i kiss your mother in th-”

and Eddie can’t help but let out a shaky laugh as he puts his hand on Richie’s. 

“shut up, asshole.” and he grins, soft and wide, and Richie just might want to die. he was close now, close enough for Richie to see his own reflection glinting in Eddie’s eyes. he grabs onto his grabs onto Richie’s shirt and they both lean in, slow and cautious, until Eddie can’t take it anymore. tightening his hold on the ugly patterns of his shirt, he pulls Richie down with a jerk, and they’re kissing. 

the sudden contact makes Richie gasp, but he closes his eyes almost immediately as he feels Eddie melt into him. it’s gentle and sweet, and he’s in awe of how it felt softer, warmer than he could ever imagine it would be. Richie kisses him like he’d been waiting for this forever, like he was savouring each touch, each glance since the beginning of time, and he didn’t even realize it. Eddie kisses Richie like he was nervous; scared even, but the clumsy shithead of a boy in front of him made him braver than he ever thought he could feel.

they slowly pull apart and Richie gently opens his eyes, unable to wipe the beam off his face. Eddie loosens his hold on him and plops his head onto his shoulder, and they burst into giggles like a pair of 11 year olds at a sleepover. 

“i _hate_ you,” Eddie manages to say, and Richie can feel him smile against the collar of his shirt. 

closing his eyes, he wraps his arms around him. “why, Edward, i love you too,” he responds, and he tilts his head, resting it on Eddie’s.

**Author's Note:**

> once more (??) i'm jus gonna throw out- this is based on a comic by @berrychocolatituwu on instagram thanks i really love their art


End file.
